Former Meituan CTO Luo Daofeng rumored to join Kuaishou

The chief technology officer (CTO) of food delivery platform Meituan Dianping, Luo Daofeng, has reportedly left his post for a position at live-streaming company Kuaishou.

Luo began working for the new company on Jan. 14, but won’t become Kuaishou’s CTO, a source told 36kr (in Chinese). An employee said that Luo is currently a part-time consultant, and will direct technical work in the future.

Live-streaming and short-video platform Kuaishou has gained popularity among users in lower-tier cities and rural areas. With the rise of the platform’s e-commerce features, China’s impoverished farming communities have found new ways to expand their income by selling fresh produce or through ecotourism.

A Kuaishou representative declined to comment when contacted by TechNode.

Although Luo’s new job hasn’t been confirmed by Kuaishou, Meituan acknowledged in a statement to TechNode that its former CTO and senior vice president “recently” left the company due to family reasons. Another senior vice president, co-founder Wang Huiwen, will take over his duties and report to CEO Wang Xing. Luo is no longer listed on the management team page on Meituan Dianping’s official website.

According to an internal email sent by Wang Xing in December 2017, Luo was responsible for a platform that provided support for the process of research and development. He was also placed in charge of one of two committees meant to “enhance data system construction and data application ability for the entire group.”

Luo joined the Dianping team as CTO in 2015, having previously held an executive role at Tencent. After the company’s merge with Meituan in 2015, he continued to be in charge of technical aspects of the app.

Meituan-Dianping made a splash last May with its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but its fortunes flagged afterward with a RMB 2.5 billion (around $370 million) loss in the third quarter of 2018. Over time, the lifestyle app expanded from food and drink delivery to a variety of other services including, most recently, gaming—a possible attempt to grow its revenue, given the strength of the industry in China.